Changing the Network Binding Order in legacy Windows systems

Description

Problem Statement

Wonderware software is experiencing network problems when used on computers with more than one connected network card. An example would be when using redundancy in Application Server. This may be indicated in the logs through error messages such as:

“Platform1 has exceeded maximum heartbeat timeout of 8000 ms”

Solution Details

Wonderware software will try to use the primary network card in the Windows binding order. This can cause problems if a computer’s binding order does not have the Wonderware network in the primary position. This solution will show how to change the binding order of network cards in different versions of Windows.

Windows Server 2003 and XP:

• Go to the Start Button, and then to Control Panel.
• Find the Network Connections icon, then right click on it and choose Explore. From the menu’s at the top of the window, choose the “Advanced” menu, and select the “Advanced Settings…” option.
• On the Adapters and Bindings tab, the first window will show the connections available on the computer, and they will be in the order of their binding.
• Select the network card which connects to the Wonderware network, and press the up arrow on the right until it is at the top of the list.
• Press OK, and then reboot.

Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008:

• Go to the Start Button, and then to Control Panel.
• Double click on the “Network and Sharing Center” icon. If you do not see this option, click the “Classic View” option at the top left.
• From the Tasks list on the left, select “Manage Network Connections”.
• From the menus at the top of the window, choose the “Advanced” menu, and select the “Advanced Settings…” option.
• If you do not see the menus at the top, go to Organize > Layout > Menu Bar, or press the ALT key.
• On the Adapters and Bindings tab, the first window will show the connections available on the computer, and they will be in the order of their binding.
• Select the network card which connects to the Wonderware network, and press the up arrow on the right until it is at the top of the list.
• Press OK, and then reboot.

Windows 7:

•  Go to the Start Button, and then to Control Panel.
• Double click on the “Network and Sharing Center” icon. If you do not see this option, click the “Large Icons” option at the top right.
• From the options list on the left, select “Change Adapter Settings”.
• Press the Alt key to see the menus at the top of the window, then choose the “Advanced” menu, and select the “Advanced Settings…” option.
• On the Adapters and Bindings tab, the first window will show the connections available on the computer, and they will be in the order of their binding.
• Select the network card which connects to the Wonderware network, and press the up arrow on the right until it is at the top of the list.
• Press OK, and then reboot.